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Pegasus Lighting Roundup: Lighting in February

Feb 252013

What’s been on the tip of everyone’s tongue this month? One word: quality. From new standards for quality lights, to tips on using light to improve your quality of life, we’ve got you covered. Here are this month’s top stories…

In Lighting News…

Is Color Rendering Index (CRI) the most accurate measure of a light’s quality? With all the innovations happening in the lighting world right now, the Color Quality Scale (CQS) might just be a better judge. CRI measures a light’s performance rendering only 8 different colors. CQS, on the other hand, measures 15, and accounts for other factors like chromatic discrimination and human preference. Click here to learn more about CQS.

news ucdavis edu Pegasus Lighting Roundup: Lighting in February

Image via News.UCDavis.edu

In December 2012 the California Lighting Technology Center at the University of California, Davis helped encourage the California Energy Commission to include new standards of quality for LED replacement lamps in its first-in-the-nation energy-efficiency directive. Now, the center is pushing for similar LED standards on a national scale. You can learn more about this initiative here. Continue reading »

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How To Make Your Bedroom Lighting More Energy-Efficient

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Feb 222013

PinExt How To Make Your Bedroom Lighting More Energy Efficient

In this series, we’re helping you save energy at your homes and businesses, room by room. Click here to view the entire series.

Your bedroom can be many things. A space to kick back after a long day. A place to romance your sweetie. Maybe it doubles as an office, or maybe it’s just the only personal space you have in this whole wide world.

Whatever your bedroom, boudoir, or inner sanctum may function as, there’s one thing it should never be: a needless energy-sucker.

Lighting is an important part of any bedroom. It adds style, ambiance, and functionality, but having great lighting in the bedroom doesn’t have to use up a ton of power.

iStock 000012262295Small How To Make Your Bedroom Lighting More Energy Efficient

We’re pulling out all the stops to give you the best tips to use in the bedroom – for energy-efficient lighting, that is!

1. Take a survey of all your light fixtures – table lamps, floor lamps, track lights, and any ceiling fans, chandeliers, or pendant lights. How many of these use incandescent light bulbs? If the answer is greater than zero, we’ve identified the first way you can cut down your energy consumption in the bedroom: Swap out all your incandescent household, chandelier, and reflector light bulbs for LEDs or CFLs. Continue reading »

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Product Spotlight: Indoor/Outdoor LED In-Ground Accent Lights

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Feb 212013

PinExt Product Spotlight: Indoor/Outdoor LED In Ground Accent Lights

This week, we’re spotlighting a light fixture that can really help you put the “spotlight” on your favorite indoor and outdoor architectural features.

Meet the LED In-Ground Accent Light:

LED Accent Lights Product Spotlight: Indoor/Outdoor LED In Ground Accent Lights

Each of these LEDs uses only 1.4 watts of power to create a generous flood beam. The lights have a durable stainless steel body, and a rated life of 50,000 hours, so the beauty they provide will stand the test of time.

Uses

When you’re traipsing up and down flights of stairs, these LEDs can light your way.

When you’re strolling on walkways (inside and outside), these LEDs can speckle your path with their beauty.

When you’re enjoying your landscape after dark, these LEDs can show it off in the best light.

When you’re enamored with the architecture of your home or building, these LEDs can help you enhance it. Continue reading »

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How To Make Your Restaurant Lighting More Energy-Efficient

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Feb 182013

PinExt How To Make Your Restaurant Lighting More Energy Efficient

This post is the second in a series on energy-efficient lighting. We’re reviewing all kinds of spaces in homes and businesses to help you save energy. Click here to for advice on making even more places energy-efficient with lighting.

According to Pacific Gas & Electric’s Food Service Technology Center, restaurants are the biggest energy users in the retail world. Did you know that lighting accounts for about 13% of all energy used in the average restaurant? This sounds like an industry ready for some energy savings.

If you’re still using traditional filament lamps to illuminate your eatery, cafe, or diner, 75% of the energy your lights consume – of the energy you pay for to power those lights – is wasted, given off as heat.

By making easy upgrades to energy-efficient lights in your restaurant, you can save upwards of 75% of the energy used to operate your lights. Plus, newer, innovative light sources can give your customers an elegant and memorable dining experience.

Restaurant Lighting How To Make Your Restaurant Lighting More Energy Efficient

Here are a few simple suggestions to save energy and hard-earned cash with your restaurant lights: Continue reading »

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How To Make Your Kitchen Lighting More Energy-Efficient

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Feb 152013

PinExt How To Make Your Kitchen Lighting More Energy Efficient

It’s 2013, and if you’re still spending a ton on your energy bill, you should know that it doesn’t have to be that way. Right now, about 20% of the energy we consume goes to lighting. But, with a few energy-efficient changes, we can see that number (and the numbers on our monthly bills) dwindle. This post is the first in a series on how to make the lighting in your home or business more energy-efficient.

Everyone’s got to eat, and for many of us, the kitchen is the very heart of the home. The kitchen also requires excellent lighting for cooking and cleaning up. So, I figure it will be a good place to start an energy-efficient lighting makeover.

LED Under Cabinet Lights Kitchen How To Make Your Kitchen Lighting More Energy Efficient

There are many different ways to upgrade the lights in your kitchen, some are quick and easy, and others are more extensive.

Easy Upgrades

Eliminate the incandescents. Nothing sucks energy quite like and incandescent light bulb. It wastes about 90% of the energy it uses, giving it off as heat (incidentally making your kitchen feel more like a sweat lodge than it should). If you replace every light bulb with a CFL (compact fluorescent), whether it’s a household lamp, a reflector lamp, or even a chandelier light bulb, you’ll start seeing energy savings right away!
Add a dimmer. Putting your overhead lights, pendant lights, and even your under cabinet lights on dimmers will help you save even more energy. A light bulb doesn’t need to use as much energy when dimmed to a lower level. Also, dimming will increase the life of your light bulb, which means you won’t have to pay for (or use up) so many. Just make sure that if you’re using your dimmers on CFLs, the dimmer and the light bulb are compatible. Continue reading »

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LEDs Allow New Method of Data Transmission

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Feb 112013

PinExt LEDs Allow New Method of Data Transmission

Kozzi Computer Keyboard and Monitor 426x304 300x214 LEDs Allow New Method of Data Transmission
At the University of Strathclyde, researchers are developing tiny LEDs that can deliver Wi-Fi-like internet access. Called Li-Fi (short for Light Fidelity), this system has the potential to transmit data several times faster than what we’re used to.

Professor Martin Dawson and his team created tiny LEDs, each about the size of an end of human hair, which flicker on and off thousands of times every second. By altering the length of these flickers, the lights can send digital information to computers and other electronic devices. Picture it as a sort of digital Morse code.

The micron-sized LEDs are made so small to allow for more data transmission at a faster rate. The university’s LEDs can flicker at a rate 1,000 times faster than larger LEDs. Why? Well, if you have 1,000 micron-sized LEDs, they can fit into the same space as a single 1mm LED. Each tiny LED acts as an individual communication channel, which allows the transmission of about a million times more data.

Suddenly, a large LED display, with each tiny LED acting as a pixel, can also allow internet communications. Continue reading »

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LED Rebates For 2013

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Feb 052013

Considering switching your commercial lighting to LEDs this year? Learn how to get the most out of lighting rebates and incentives.

Have you gone shopping for new light bulbs or fixtures lately? If the answer is yes, you’re probably aware that LED lighting options have saturated the market as energy efficient alternatives to incandescent, halogen, and fluorescent lights.

But, what you might not know is that there are tons of rebates and incentives out there for buying LEDs that can help you save money when making the switch.

Since January 2012 the number of rebate programs for LEDs has increased by 54%.

Here’s an overview of the kind of rebates your company can expect in 2013:

Rebate Snapshot LED 1 13 LED Rebates For 2013

If you’re already familiar with rebates from electric utilities and government organizations in your area, you may notice that the dollar amounts for most rebates have decreased over the past year. The average rebate for an LED replacement lamp has gone down by 7% since last January. Rebates amounts also decreased for LED fixtures: recessed down lights decreased by 66%, accent lighting by 12%, and high bay fixtures by 8%.

You needn’t be alarmed by these numbers, though. They’ve only been adjusted to match the lower prices of LEDs in 2013. Less money is necessary to make purchasing an LED financially attractive. Also, since there are over twice the programs this year, money is even more accessible. Continue reading »

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Lighting Wins and Losses From Super Bowl XLVII

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Feb 042013

PinExt Lighting Wins and Losses From Super Bowl XLVII

Well, they told us yesterday’s Super Bowl would be the greenest one to date, but they failed to mention that as part of the plan to save energy they were going to turn the lights out in the second half.

Just kidding. This year’s Super Bowl might go down in the books for its lighting “abnormality,” but certainly there were some “bright spots” about this year’s lighting as well. Today, I’m going to reflect on both.

Superbowl Blackout NY Times Lighting Wins and Losses From Super Bowl XLVII

Image via NYTimes.com

Here at Pegasus Lighting, we were all so excited to ogle the Mercedes-Benz Superdome’s new lighting system, and it didn’t disappoint. (At least through halftime, that is.) The Superdome’s exterior featured more than 26,000 LED lights on a whopping 96 full-color graphic display panels. These panels flooded the building in a spectrum of animated colors, patterns,and images. We were especially impressed knowing that the system used only 10 kilowatts of electricity, which if you can believe it, is the amount used to power a small house. Not to mention that if the LEDs are used for an average of 6 hours per day, they won’t need to be replaced until 2057.

Super Dome Washington Post Lighting Wins and Losses From Super Bowl XLVII

Image via WashingtonPost.com

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Pegasus Lighting Roundup: Lighting in January

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Jan 282013

PinExt Pegasus Lighting Roundup: Lighting in January

incandescent 300x199 Pegasus Lighting Roundup: Lighting in January

Image via Cleveland.com

It’s a new year, and we’re back to keep you up-to-date on what’s happening in the lighting world. So far, 2013 has brought us tons of lighting innovations, brilliant tips on improving your life with light, and some just plain cool stuff…

In Lighting News…

Starting January 1, import and manufacture of the 75-watt incandescent light bulb were banned in the U.S. as part of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007. The goal here is to move the country to a higher efficiency standard to save energy, money, and natural resources. To learn more about the act, how it affects consumers, and how to adapt, check out this article from Cleveland.com or our own recent blog post on the matter.

Philips has come out with a new way to try on clothing in retail shops called the AmbiScene Fitting Room System. The system’s LEDs let customers adjust the lighting in their dressing rooms. To see how your clothes look in different places, you can choose settings that mimic the seasons, different times of day, and even different locations like the office or a nightclub. The system is also perfect for retail displays. Check out this video to see how it works:

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Toning Up The Lighting In Your Home Gym

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Jan 212013

PinExt Toning Up The Lighting In Your Home Gym

contemporary home gym Toning Up The Lighting In Your Home Gym

Image via Chicago Architect COOK ARCHITECTURAL Design Studio

With the New Year upon us, many have decided to upgrade their fitness routines by installing home gyms, or dusting off the treadmills they already own. But, if you have dingy or inadequate home gym lighting, it can be even more difficult to actually make use of the space 3-5 times a week.

Am I saying lighting can help you achieve your fitness goals? Not exactly, but I’m not saying that it can’t.

When deciding on the lights for your home gym, here are some things to consider:

1. Brightness

So you sweat it out for half an hour and then move on with your life. What’s the point of putting effort into comfortably lighting your home gym if you don’t spend a lot of time being comfortable in there anyway? Well, good lighting might actually help motivate you to spend longer, more quality time exercising. Nothing is quite as depressing as a home gym with a single ceiling light fixture and gloomy shadows cast on every surface. Studies show that cool, bright light naturally increases your energy levels, which means you could have an easier time putting in those 30 minutes on the elliptical.

LED Track Lighting Toning Up The Lighting In Your Home Gym Continue reading »

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